More probes into murder bid on Kine

THANE: The six accused arrested by the Mumbra police last month in connection with the failed murder attempt on Rajan Kine, a Shiv Sena corporator, are sinking deeper into the mess. The Thane Court has directed the Commissioner of Police, Thane, to probe the angle of organised crime in the case.
WK Sangle, the judge of the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) Court, Thane, passed an order to the effect earlier this week.The order was passed in response to a plea filed by Munir Ahmed, the legal counsel for the Sena corporator, seeking to slap sections of the MCOCA act on Ramesh Patil as well as five others arrested in the case.
"The court has directed the Commissioner of Police, Thane, to approve, investigate and sanction the slapping of the act on the six arrested accused and their three absconding accomplices," Munir Ahmed told Thane Plus. He informed that the Commissioner of Police has to approve the case and get it investigated through a police office of the ranks of Assistant Commissioner of Police and above.
The city police chief is however free to grant sanction to the slapping of the MCOCA charges only if the investigation reveals the element of organised in the case. It will be only after the sanction from the city police chief that the court will take cognizance of the charges.
Earlier, the Special Court, on the same day, admitted a plea by the Sena corporator under Section 19 of the MCOCA to keep the identities of the witnesses' secret. The litigant had apprehended that the lives of the witnesses' are at risk from the accused. The admission has given a further jolt to the accused.
It may be noted that the Mumbra police arrested the six on August 6 after reports that the accused were out to eliminate the Sena corporator. The criminals had tried to murder Kine on July 26 when he visited the Shankar Mandir temple at around 8.30 pm for darshan.
Ramesh Patil is an NCP leader and had contested the previous polls to the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) from Anand Koliwada municipal ward against Kine only to lose the elections. He is said to be the mastermind behind the attempt.
The police seized two firearms including a foreign made pistol and a country made revolver along with six rounds of live ammunition from the accused. The six were sent to police custody for eight days and their police remand was extended by another four days. The accused are now in judicial detention and their application for bail has been rejected by the court.